Wyatt sighed at the sound of the intercom and stood up, heading out of Kiara's room. He opened the door leading out of the central room and went down the stairs, going back to the first floor.

Griffin came out of the room next door and followed Wyatt. They soon all met up at the elevator, their faces grim.

The doors creaked open. Wyatt stepped in, and, as soon as the doors closed, the elevator began its long descent down.

The silence was, once again, excruciatingly painful. Nobody spoke a word. No one even coughed, or sneezed, or cleared their throat.

So painful.

Wyatt was somewhat relieved when the elevator came to a jerking stop. The doors opened, revealing the trial room. Dagger sat at his throne, legs crossed at the ankles and a small, taunting smile playing around at his lips. "Well? I don't have to hold your hand and guide you anymore, do I? You know the drill. Find your spots! Let's finish this faster so I can disarm those bombs set around the manse–"

"Wait...WHAT!?" Griffin and a few others shouted.

"We thought you already did that!" Sophie and Crimson shrieked.

Dagger raised his hands. "Don't blame me! I forgot!"

"How the hell do you forget to disarm a bomb in your house!?" Cassie yelled.

"Don't ask!" Dagger protested in a mocking manner. "Anyway, the sooner you're done screaming bloody murder at me, the sooner I can make sure you don't go everywhere when it does explode!"

Kiara stepped forward. "For once, I agree." She said it with authority, her words causing everyone to quiet down and walk to their stands.

Dagger grinned. "I think I'll marry you after this, Miss Kiara."

In the stands, Chase pretended to puke.

Kiara ignored the both of them.

Dagger stood up. "Anyway! This is the Third Trial! Your task is to solve the mystery of whoever killed the Ultimate Assassin, Erik Killman!"

"Killman?" Thane asked, perking up.

"Well, duh, his last name's gonna be cool for an assassin! Would you want to kill people with a stupid last name like Clark?"

"Hey!" Wyatt protested.

"Clark? Wyatt's last name is Clark?" Damien asked, looking at Wyatt.

Dagger covered his mouth. "Oops!"

Star interrupted the conversation. "We have to solve this, guys! If Dagger is telling the truth, which I doubt he is, then we have to solve this mystery quickly, or no one, including the killer, is making it out of here alive. Harmony, the autopsy?"

"Right," Harmony said. "Erik was found dead this morning, hanging from the ceiling by his neck right above Wyatt, who was passed out and bleeding from a sword wound. He had tons of cuts on his body, as well as a stab wound in his chest. There was a mask on his face; however, after taking it off we found a cut on his forehead and blood running down his face. He had a look of pain."

"There's already a suspect." Griffin said. He pointed to Wyatt. "Wyatt! I have some questions for you!"

Wyatt took a step back slightly, shocked at the sudden outburst. "Me?"

"You were found with Erik's dead body! Of course you're the number one suspect here!"

"Oh, Griffin, is that so?" Dagger asked from the throne. "What do you think happened?"

"He must've killed Erik, hung the body up, and then proceeded to stab himself with the sword, leaving a wound!"

"No, that's not it," Star said. She looked at Wyatt with her blue eyes. "Wyatt had nothing to prevent himself from screaming. It takes a lot of willpower to not scream and do that as well."

Griffin narrowed his eyes. "Look here. He's the most suspicious one. First of all, he was out before the morning bell even rang. The entire bullshit about a third person being there? He could've just lied about that!"

Harmony shook her head quietly. "I was there when we carried him off to the infirmary. First, Wyatt's blood was already drier than Erik's. That means he couldn't have killed him first and then stabbed himself. He couldn't have stabbed himself prior either. The wound was too big, there would have been blood everywhere."

"If Wyatt didn't do it then...who else would do it?" Chase asked.

Cassie answered. "I have one. Damien!"

The Ultimate Hitman yelped and jumped back in fear. "W...what?"

Star nodded. "Cassie's right. The wounds on his body...were slashes!"

"But...I told you before! I couldn't kill someone!"

"Slayer Vega could." Harmony said quietly.

Damien looked distressed.

"Why don't you bring him out?" Thane taunted. 

There was a flash of red light and Vega appeared, grinning like a madman. "Helllooooo! Hi, hi, hi!" He pulled out a knife from his belt and pointed it in a random direction.

"Point that somewhere else!" Sophie shrieked, ducking.

Vega looked at them with his unnerving eyes. "Called for me?"

"Yes," Star said. "Are you the murderer of Erik Killman?"

"Huh? Who's that? The name of a video game character? A book character?" Vega tilted his head in confusion.

"Erik. The victim. Do you have something to do with his murder?" Star asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Nope!"

"Liar!" Crimson shouted. "You killed him in Kiara's room, didn't you?"

"No, he couldn't have killed him in Kiara's room." Wyatt contradicted. "Erik's death scene is strange. There are slash marks and torture wounds, but not enough blood at the crime scene!"

"You saw, Wyatt. There wasn't enough blood in any other part of the manse!" Harmony protested.

"That's wrong, too. I found a secret room in Kiara's room! It's behind one of her bookcases. I think it's Damien's special room!" Wyatt pulled out his phone and showed the bloody walls to them. They gasped.

"That's the torture room, then." Star confirmed.

"That doesn't prove Damien's innocence." Kiara said.

"I realized something odd about the room. There was only one passageway. That was the one I came through, and the one that connects only to Kiara's room." Wyatt said. He turned to Kiara. "Was anyone else in the same room as you during the free time?"

"No."

Thane spoke up. "I remember. When I went out from my room because my mannequin soldiers were acting up–"

"What?" everyone asked simultaneously.

"Don't bother. Anyway, when I left my room, I saw this shadow in the corner of the central room. That must have been Damien, who couldn't find his door! In that case, there's no way Damien could have known about his room in the first place."

"So, let's recap for a second. Wyatt is obviously not the murderer, and neither is Vega, nor Damien." Star said.

"Suck it!" Vega shouted.

"Wait...then why was Wyatt there at the scene of the murder in the first place?" Harmony asked.

"I remember!" Wyatt exclaimed. "I figured that Kiara's room would have useful books on why we're here. I was looking through when a shadow came in and stabbed me. That must have been Erik then. I collapsed, and, as soon as I passed out, the murderer must have struck Erik!"

"That clears some things up," Griffin admitted, twisting his rings uncomfortably. 

"Only question now is who's the actual murderer," Crimson muttered. 

"There is only one person who still leaves me suspicious, especially after hearing Wyatt's account," Star pondered.

Wyatt nodded, and spun around, pointing to the person next to him. "You, Kiara!"

Kiara did not react. In fact, the only thing she did was smile slightly. "And what makes you think of me?"

"You even openly admitted that you were the only one in the room during the free time, and nobody else knew until I found out during the investigation. The murderer is the only who would have known beforehand, so they would have tortured him there."

"True, that might make sense to blame me, but what about the killing weapon? It is pretty much concluded that he died from a stab to the heart, but look at the shape of stab wound. It's circular. There is no melee weapon of that shape. What would I have used to kill him then?"

Wyatt's breathing hitched. What Kiara said was completely true. He studied Kiara, her eyes narrowed slightly like in a challenge.

His eyes glanced over to her hair.

There was a pen, tucked behind her ear. 

A pen, roughly the same diameter as the fatal death wound.

Wyatt pointed at her hair. "Right there. There's the murder weapon."

Chase frowned. "A pen? How would a pen be capable of killing someone?"

"Kiara is the Ultimate Writer. It's not that hard to believe that her expensive equipment like pens could also be used for a murder weapon."

Kiara's eyes widened in shock and anger. "No!"

"You have multiple pens like these, right? Is there something hiding under your bed that you would like to share?" Wyatt asked.

Kiara kept shaking her head.

"You were the only one besides Erik and me to know about a conversation we had in the library on the first floor. Erik mentioned that someone was following me. It must have been him since no one else would have the guts to follow me in the crack of dawn to the library. In that case, you must've been Erik's follower. One more thing. I found an empty bullet slot in Erik's gun. The actual bullet was nearby, and it there was a blood streak on it!"

Star frowned deeply. "Erik mentioned something about stalkers and you didn't bring that up to us, Wyatt?"

Kiara whispered, unaware of Star's question. "No."

"The last time I saw you in short sleeves, you had various ink drawings on your arms. That would be the perfect way to hide a wound," Wyatt challenged. 

Kiara shut her eyes before breathing out slowly. She smiled and opened them. "That's right! I murdered Erik Killman!"

"Why?" Harmony asked.

"He was hiding something from me that I wanted to know. I found Damien's room. I figured no one was smart enough to find it and that's where I tortured him in hopes of getting my answer."

"Not cool, lady," Vega muttered.

"He wouldn't spit it out. He fired a gun at me. The door was open. It flew all the way over to the bookshelf. I got mad and I killed him with the pen."

"And then you tampered with the evidence," Crimson said slowly.

Kiara nodded. "It was...accidental. But, please..." she looked down at her feet before looking back at them, this time her face tear stained. "Don't kill me!"

Wyatt stepped back at her sudden outburst.

Kiara sniffed. "I need to get back. I have to get back. I have to go...see him."

"Him?" Cassie echoed.

"He is my one person who I can count on. That explosion...woke me up. I remembered bits and pieces of someone I knew. I wanted more knowledge about it. I went to Erik, who said he had an idea for recovery. He had a secret he was hiding. I wanted to know it, so badly. Then, I figured, if I killed someone, then we wouldn't die for sure. I would have another chance to escape! Haha!" Kiara was in a mixture between laughing and crying, her voice shaky.

Wyatt gritted his teeth.

"Go on, Wyatt...Clark, was it? Summarize what happened in this murder. You're the one who would do this the best." Kiara urged on.

Wyatt unclenched his fists, his palms sweaty. He wiped them on his jeans. "Here's what happened."

Star nodded in approval. Wyatt took a deep breath and began.

"After Torch's murder and Amanda's execution, there was a point of time where I was in the library with Erik and the murderer. Erik wanted to tell me something. He said that he had a feeling that he was going to die soon because someone was following him. He also had some important research to tell me, but I left before he could say anything. The killer overheard our conversation, and that's when they decided they were going to get their answers no matter what, because they had been following him for days."

"Later on, we were introduced to our special rooms. Damien couldn't find his. I'm guessing it's because Dagger was screwing with us again. The killer, while exploring, discovered a secret passage, the door that lead to Damien's room. They had their murder plan set in motion, but they still weren't very sure about carrying the plan out.

"Soon after, Dagger gave us a new motivation. The explosion caused the killer to snap out of their amnesia and remember that there was someone they needed to go home to. They realized, with panic, that if no one murdered, then they wouldn't have the chance to go home. They already had a plan. They already had the victim in mind.

"That night, I went to the killer's room, thinking there was important information. Erik was stalking me and followed. Being the Ultimate Assassin, I didn't hear him. Erik had plans to kill me, and, as I was looking through the books, he went over, and stabbed me. I crumpled on the floor, and passed out. It turned out that there was a person also on Erik's trail, so when I passed out, they knocked Erik out by hitting him in the head. Since I was delirious, I assumed Erik died. The killer also assumed I was dead, so they proceeded to drag him to the secret room, leaving me alone.

"Erik probably woke a short time later, where they had a sword ready, and they demanded answers, like how to get out. However, Erik refused, so they began to torture him, slashing him with the sword. Erik didn't speak; in fact, he got out of his restraints, and fired his gun at the killer. The bullet scraped by the killer's arm, and then flew into the killer's special room. In rage, the killer took an odd weapon they always carried around and killed Erik with it. They stabbed him once in the chest, successfully killing him.

"With that, they tampered with the evidence. They dragged Erik's body into their room, and hung him on a rope, which confused us into thinking Erik was hung. They put his gun nearby, and super-glued a mask on in an attempt to hide the fact he was tortured. The slash marks and everything else pointed to Damien, so they didn't worry. They then got rid of the murder weapon. We never found it, so I'm guessing they burned it. They covered up their bullet scrape with the usual markings they had on their arms anyway. With that, they pretended to be shocked with the rest of the group when they found Erik's dead body hanging over my unconscious one.

"...and that murderer...is you, Kiara!" Wyatt finished shakily.

Kiara nodded and smiled. "Please don't kill me."

"Too bad!" Dagger said.

Her smile faltered.

"Aw, and here I thought we could've gotten engaged!" Dagger shook his head in mock disappointment. "Well, I follow the rules, and I execute the killer! Time to vote, children!"

"Wait! WAIT!" Kiara screamed.

They had no choice but to drown out the depressing cries of Kiara as they prepared to cast their votes.

They knew what would happen next.

There wasn't even time for a proper goodbye.